Video: Jillian Michaels shares tips for avoiding diet pitfalls

>>>"today's" health. biggest loser fitness expert
jillian michaels
has spent more than 20 years helping people reach their target weight. she started when she was 5. she's at it again with her new

book, sl"slim for life:my secrets to" what do you want people to come away with?

>>it's no nonsense,
cut to the chase
. lose the weight and keep it off.

>>the book is interactive. at the end of each chapter you have a points system?

>>the idea is that nothi g everything is going to work for everybody mentally and physically. there's all these different strategies. you check the ones that you feel you can apply in your life and then i'll say, look, this one has more impact than that one. you kind of add it up. at the end i tell you where you're at and what you can do to make improvements or accelerate your results.

>>so you can tailor it to yourself?

>>exactly.

>>the chapter titled "evading pitfalls" how to evade hunger. you have four tips in each section. let's start off. think it through.

>>right. so, think it through. now, when you're going to eat something bad for you, stop and go from an impulsive state of i want this now, i need the comfort to how am i going to feel after i've eaten it? how am i going to feel when i get on the scale next monday? how am i going to feel a month from now when i'm five pounds up? it shifts you to a place of logic and better understanding.

>>cravings, so difficult. you say play a
zero sum game
. what do you mean by that?

>>again, stop and think these fries are 500 calories. that's an hour on the treadmill. my favorite cravings trick, have three bites. go do something to make yourself busy, if it doesn't pass in
15 minutes
, have another three bites.

>>after the first three it plateaus.

>>you get mindless about it.
walk away
. tell yourself if i want more, i'll have more. engage in something else. it usually will pass.

>>get busy.

>>occupy yourself. put the kids to bed, get ready for work the next day and ultimately you'll forget about it. it will pass.

>>managing stress, probably one of the most underrated aspects of
weight loss
, which is a little hard for us doing this business, this show, is getting enough sleep.

>>sleep is so critical from a biochemical perspective, with regard to your metabolism. sleep is the number one thing you can do that is not fitness or diet related for weight management.

>>what foods help you manage stress?

>>foods with a lot of
b vitamins
. that's going to be fantastic. you're thinking
chicken breast
, some grass-fed steak or take a b supplement,
b complex
that's going to help you stay mellow.

>>get horizontal.

>>okay. i hate talking about this publicly, but get busy with your significant other.

>>parents. you know, the kids -- look, they're everything to you. but you say one of the ways to make your workouts work is to fit in working out with your kids.

>>exactly. if you have
little ones
, put them in a bike seat and go for a bike ride. put them in a carrier, go for a hi hike. walk the dogs with your kids f they're older, shoot hoops with them. take skiing lessons with them. play with them. get active.

>>which helps them.

>>tremendously, showing them that fitness is fun.

>>mommy's a little sleepy right now.

>>mommy woke up at 5:00. so mommy as you know raveling a little. thanks for pointing that out.

>>i know you got a little proclemt there.

>>thanks, al.

>>>speaker boehner and next. first this is "today" on nbc.

>>>back now at 8:44 and mover our exclusive interview with speaker
john boehner
. he can invite anyone he wants to,

Jillian Michaels' uncompromising dedication to health and fitness has been well established. In "Slim for Life," she cuts right to the chase is illustrating a simple and effective regimen for getting into the best shape of your life. Here's an excerpt.

INTRODUCTION

I have to tell you…I honestly never saw myself writing a “diet” book again. I thought I had said all there was to say about weight loss and maintenance, diet and nutrition, and even exercise. But over time I realized that maybe I and all the other “weight-loss gurus” had said too much, making things overcomplicated, confusing, even conflicting.

One expert tells you to count points, another tells you to count minute blocks, and yet another tells you to count calories. It all means the same thing on the scale, but hearing it three different ways leaves you guessing which method actually gives you better results, and which you should do. This can make a person feel overwhelmed and a little nuts. Or you have the people who overinform you, with information on biochemistry, kinesiology, and other science-y stuff. Once again you feel overwhelmed, and you don’t understand what to do with it anyway.

The worst offenders on this shelf are out to make a quick buck with too-good-to- be-true advice. They may tell you things like “You don’t really need to worry about calories to lose weight” or “You don’t have to exercise to offload the fat—you can just sit still and deep breathe it away.”

Bottom line, over the last several years, I’ve come to recognize that the more simple and straightforward I can make the information, the easier it is for you to cut through all the crap, apply the advice, and get the results you want.

It’s a set of straightforward methods, tips, tricks, and insider secrets that pertain to diet, exercise regimen, and general lifestyle. When you follow it, it will make any weight you’ve been holding on to fall off quickly—and remain off!

The advice here is doable, sustainable, fast, and affordable. Life is hard enough without dreading your workout, feeling punished by your diet, or being overwhelmed by your lifestyle. Not with Slim for Life.

I will dispel slim myths and lay waste to dangerous weight-loss ideas that end up damaging your metabolism and setting you even farther back behind the eight ball. That’s right, all that crap you’ve been trying, testing out, and buying into—no more. The Cookie Diet, Master Cleanse, Carb Cutting, Fat-Free, 17-Day Debacle—all over, done! This is not gimmick time. Instead, I offer you what I’ve found works: hundreds of straightforward ideas that are easily implemented and guaranteed to effect a dramatic body transformation.

My last promise before we get started—permanence. I’ve taken all I know about weight loss and distilled it into what’s in this book. It offers only what works, and nothing you don’t need.

The even better news is you don’t have to follow all the strategies listed within these pages or follow them all the time. Slim for Life allows you to pick and choose what works best for you and what’s manageable for your life, all while giving you better results than you imagined possible.

Slim for Life is divided into eight chapters that take into account every possible area of your life where you might hit an obstacle or have a question—Eating, Moving, At Home, On the Go—you name it, it’s here. You’re covered, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. In any possible scenario you can imagine, I have your back and will provide you with the diet, fitness, and lifestyle advice you need to come out on top.

I’ve also covered every possible self-sabotaging act or slim pitfall, from lack of support and poor self-esteem to time constraints, access issues, and financial limitations. If or when any of these issues arise, you now have a number of solutions at your fingertips with which to circumvent them all.

But it’s not just about avoiding sabotage. I’ll show you how to optimize your fat- burning potential and supercharge your slim with strategic advice on everything from supplementation, food combining, and meal timing to body temperature manipulation, craving crushers, slim savvy fashion tips, and much, much more.

Now that you know what you’re in for, let’s get down to business and deliver the changes to your body, health, and life that you’ve desired for so long and truly deserve.